Vehicle.



VEHICLE.

Macnee! i I Application led January 30, 1914. Serial Nal?.

To 11]/ v/'/om 'It muy roi/cern He it known tliat l,"llr:: nxr t), Ensim@ a citizen of the lnit'edgStates, residingl at Fredo-nia, in the county of- (hautauiiua, and State of `\`ew York,- have invented certain new' and useful linp'rm'einents-in Vehicles, ot which the following is-i.'s[,\ ecifieation.

M v invention relates toiinprovefnents in vehicles. yand it has lor its primary object the provision oi" means associated with the traction wheels whereby the weightxo'f the vehicle hodv. and-any load thereoru' is utilized to assist-.in the forward or rearward propulsionot the vehicle, as the case may he. lt has foi-1a further object'to so construct the driving mechanism and arrange theszilne with reference to the traction 'wheels that the greater the r tion otthe wheels the greater will he the power exerted 'on the wheels to 'rotatey the saine.

While .I have illustrated iny invention in connection with a power propelled vehicle, it will be clear troni the description to follow that the principle involvedmay he utiliz/cd on horseldriven vehicles, and in v arious other wavs. l

With the above and other objects in view, in v invention consists in the novel features ol construction and in the arrangement and coinhination of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed` out in the suhjoincd claims. ln the drawings.--Figure 1 is a side elevation of the rear'end of a power-propelled vehicle |ia\'in; r a portion of thedrivingor traction wheel on the near side of the vehicle broken awa)v to better illustrate parts hchind the saine.y Fig. l is an enlarged transverse section taken on line .1-;/:, Fig. l` lookingr to thc right. longitudinal section taken on line 'Figi'. 2. the saine being on a reduced scale.

Figa-l is'sja vertical longitudinal section taken 0n line Fig. Fig. 5 is a detailed View of one of the hooks adapted to he engaged b v the depending nicn'il'iers of the axles to prevent the swinging movcnicnt ot'V the saine beyond certain points.

ln the elnliodinicnt ot' niv invention illus- .tratcd in the accorni'ianvine drawing in which' similar' numerals ol! referencerefer to similar pa rts throughout tnc several tigures, 5 designates thel vehicleihodj,Y lwhich is mounted on the chassis il constructed in anyv Speoication of Letters Patent. l

`tance-against the rota-- Figi. 3 is a vert-ical ll-atented Angl l ln the particular embodiment dicllosed,.

these chains extend forwardly and upwardly and pass around sprocket wheels which are secured to a jack shaft .il supported on the vehicle body, the jack shai'tvbeing driven h v any suitable means from the source of power.

" rIhre parts thus far described -relatecL except in so tar as the springs 7 permitindepcinlent wertical movement of the vehicle body with reference 'to the driv ing shaft 1U. it ,being the intention that the vehicley bodvthe springs supporting the same and the driving,r shalt with all parts secured thereto shall inove'together in -a forward or rearward direction, but it is to he understood thata'll forward or rearward inovenientsol" these parts are accompanied h v a' component upward or downward movenient regardlez-ss or' the lienhilitiY ot' the vehicle springs`7.

l5 designatcsihe traction wheels, which in the'en'ihodinient herein disclosed Serve as lthe driving wheels. and each ot these wheels eomi'nisesa tell;7 lf3. i rim 1T. a ire or tires 18. and a sheet metal or other body portion 1f) having.r a hub 20. lt is of course -under- .stood that the construction of wheel herein are fixedly shown mayY -lie changed. ln order that thev driving'ineans may be applied centrally to the wheelAl the bod)l portion 19 is (lished, as at 2l, so as: to oll'setthe marginal portion thereof troni the central portion and 'at the saine time have the connectioi'ilol.E the hub to the sheet nictal portion in n plane as near as possible centrally between the inner and outer faces of the wheel fellv. i

Secured to the inner peripheral surface of the telly are two' spaced channel-shaped rings 22. which are held spaced by separator thinihlcs througl'i which are passed' bolts 2l which retain the .separator thimbles in placr and at the .saine time prevent separation ot said rings in the event of their seeuriner means becomingr untastened. The .Separator thimbles are vspaced equi-distantly Un this driving shaft' los . a driving pinion.

around the wheel so as to provide what may be termed internal lantern gears and these .gears are in mesh with driving pinions 25 is therefore steady in its operation, and pos- `sibility of the driving pinions working out of mesh lwith the internal lantern gears, which are preferably concentric within the wheel, is entirely obviated.

26 designates the axles on which the driving wheels are mounted for rotation, each wheel having a separate axle provided with a telescopic depending member 27 having a hearing 28 at its outer end in which the driving.,r shaft 10 is mounted for rotation. Said bearings are situated between the brackets 8 and the driving pinions 25 and are capable of swinging in an arc of a circle with the axes of the driving -wheels as their centers.

'The axles 26 and driving shaft 10 constitute a swinging mounting for the vehicle body, and by reason of forming the dependin members 27 of the axles in two sections an teles'coping them, the rollers 3l can be brought in contact with the inner peri heral faces of the channel-shaped rings 22 with the desired pressure and maintained in such relation. The preferred arrangement for telcscopingthe depending members 27 of the axles is best shown in Fig. 2 in which the inner section 32 of each has an axial socket' 33 at itsouter end to receive the inner end portion 34 of the-outer section 35, and the parts are retained in adjusted position by set screws 36 which is passed through the sock# axles to swing forwardly into or toward the position shown by the dotted lines 29 in Figs. 1 and 3. This relative arrangement 'of parts is retained during the forward movement of the vehicle and when the parts are in this position, it is to be noted that the weight'of the vehicle-body and its load tends to force the driving shaft 1 downwardly and rearwardly, thus exerting its .weight to rotate the driving wheels.` It is apparent that the greater the distance the driving pinions 25 are located from the axes of the traction wheels the greater will be the power or lever action` exerted against particularly desir- The' driving mechanism,

able in automobile trucks where speed is not so important as power, it being of course understood that the larger the diameter of the internal gear on the traction wheels the slower will he the speed. On the other hand, for pleasure vehicles it may be 'desirable to reduce the diameter of the gears of the traction wheels, which will position the driving pinions 25 closer to the axes of said wheels and thus the speed will be increased although the power will be reduced, but

such' reduced power will still be greater than in the arrangements of driving mechanism now employed, but that feature of the invention in which the weight of the vehicle body is employed to assist in the forward or rearward propulsion of tlie vehicle ywill be retained regardless of the distance the driving pinions may be located from the axes of the'traction wheels. in the event that these wheels enter a rut or strike an obstruction in the road, the power required to move W hen reversing the vehicle the parts assumethe position shown by the dotted lines 30 in Fig. 3, so as to bring the driving 'wheels in rear of the vertical center ofthe wheels and thus obtain a reverse action, in which the weight of the body and its load, if any, assist in the rearward rotation of the wheels. It is to be understood that` the greater the resistance odered to the rotation of the wheels, the farther forward or rear-l ward, as the case may be, will the driving pinions 25 be positioned, and it will be clear that the weight of the vehicle body and its load will have greater leverage in tending to rotate the vehicle when the driving pinions areat their maximum forward or rearward positions. v

When the driving pinions 25 reach their maximum forward or rearward positions, the depending members 27 of the axles engage hooks 37 which are fastened to the springs 7, thus preventing the rising of saidv pinions to a point above the horizontal centers of the traction wheels. It is of course understood thatthe maximum forward or rearward positions of said driving pinions may be at the horizontal centers of the traction wheels, or at any point between' the same and the vertical centers of said wheels,

and `since the maximum positions in which the driving pinions are believed to be most effective, are shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3,

insonne the hooks 37 engage the ydepending members of the aXles when either of these positions are reached.

It is of course apparent that if my inven- I such cases will be similar to like parts on the motor driven mechanism illustrated.

Having thus described my' invention, What I claim is,-

l. In a vehicle, the combination of a'pai'r of traction Wheels having each an annular internal gear, a driving shaft, pinions on said shaftin mesh with said internal gears, means permitting the swinging of said driving shaft with its pinions through an arc of a circle having its center coincident 'With the axes of said annular gears, transmission4 mechanism imparting rotary movement to said driving shaft, brackets carried by said driving shaft, springs mounted on said brackets, and a vehicle body carried .by said springs.

2. In a vehicle, combination of a pair.

of traction wheels, each having a felly, a pair of spaced channel bars secured to the inner peripheral surface of said felly, separator thimbles secured between each pair of spaced channel bars at regular intervals around the Wheels, driving pinions co-acting with said channel bars and separator thimbles, a driving shaft to which said pinions are secured, an axle for each traction wheel having a depending portion provided with a bearing at its outer end in which lsaid -driving shaft is journaled, a vehicle body supported on said driving shaft, and means for-rotating said driving shaft.

3. In a vehicle, thecombination of a pair of traction Wheels having an annular gear provided with a pair of' annular track surfaces, driving pinions co-acting with said annular gears, rollers at each side of each f driving pinion rolling in contact ivith said annular tracks, a driving shaft to which said pinions are secured and on which said roll.-

v ers are rotatably mounted, an Aaxle for each traction Wheel having a depending portion provided with a bea-ring at its outer end in whichfsaid driving shaft is journaled, a ve'- hicle body supported on said driving shaft,

.. and means for rotating said driving shaft.

el. In a vehicle, the combination of a pair of traction Wheels having each an annular internal gear and an annular track, a driving pinion meshing with each annular gear,

- internal gear, a

v vehicle body spring-supported on said driving shaft, and means for imparting power to said driving shaft.

6. In a vehicle, the combination of a pair of traction wheels having each a concentric gear, a pinion in mesh with each of said gears, a swinging mounting having its center coincident with the axes of said gears and being extensible a direction toward and from said axes, and a vehicle body supported by said swinging mounting.

7. In a vehicle, the combination of a pair of traction wheels having each an annular driving shaft, pinions on said shaft in mesh with said internalfgear, an aXle for each of said traction Wheels having a telescopic depending portion provided with a bearing at its outer end in which said driving shaft isjournaled, a vehicle body supported on said driving shaft, and means for rotating said shaft.

8. In a vehicle, the combination of a pair Y. of traction wheels having each an annular gearand a pair of annular tracks, a driving pinion meshing with each of said annular gears, rolling members at each side of said driving pinions in contact with said annular tracks, a driving shaft on which said driv ing gears and rolling members are mounted, a vehicle body spring supported on said driving shaft, and means for imparting power to said driving shaft.

9. In-a vehicle, the combination of a pair of traction Wheels having each a. concentric gear, a pinion in mesh with each of said gears, a swinging mounting having its center coincident withthe axes of said gears, a vehicle body supported by said swinging mounting, and means to prevent the swinging of said mounting beyond certain points.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY C. EHMKE. Witnesses: u EMIL NEUHART, n

JAcoB CBERST, JR. 

